Friday, 4 January 2008

Bye For Now

I was going to do the five facts tag because some of the facts about me are quite interesting.

Twenty years ago I had a serious nervous breakdown while at university. I thought my life was over and it probably was but for the intervention of a school friend Bez (occasional commentator on this blog and, I'm sure he won't mind the plug, member of the band DOG based in Scunthorpe. Buy his great album 'Year of The Dog', out now) who actually got me back on my feet, or as much on my feet as I am ever likely to be. I went on to get married and have kids.

After that dramatic statement, because I need to concentrate on my family at the moment I am going to take a brief sabbatical from blogging. Have enjoyed the experience very much last year and enjoyed watching all your great blogs take off!

23 comments:

Bev, thats so touching to read that, but its your strength that got you back on your feet and you've clearly more than done ok. Your family look great and you can be so proud.I will miss checking out your observations on life, but wont try to talk you out of what you feel you need to do. Promise that you will find a creative outlet for yourself though, you clearly have so much to give.After reading your Steve Harley posting I was going to point you in the direction of one of Hulls greatest sons, the late great Mick Ronson. If you dont know much about him then do some research and I think you will agree not enough is made of him. (This months "CLASSIC ROCK" magazine is a good place to start.) Enjoy your year and be proud of what you have achieved, I'm off to wipe my eyes!

I won't try to talk you out of it, but I will miss you a lot. Your postings and insight have been incredible and you have contributed so much to my blogging world and to others I am sure. Blogging takes a lot of time, time away from other things and so I completely understand. I wish I had more discipline and perhaps in the spring I will join you :) I look forward to your return and I'm so glad that Bez was there when you needed someone. You are a terrific person and I'm happy I know you. See you later.

Bev, I could cry. It just won't be the same without you. When I read the title of this post I prayed it wouldn't be literal.

But it was. Is. And I won't try to talk you out of it. A smart chick like you knows what she has to do.

Let me say, then, that I hope it is a "sabbatical," that you'll be back when the time is right.

Weird. I just thought that this is sort of your 2 Thing Challenge post. Home. Health. You are putting both first, as should be.

Vaya con Dios. Do take care of yourself. Until you return, I'll think of you fondly and send my best prayers and thoughts to Hull, to your family, and to you. (And I'm going to miss the dickens out of you!)

Have a good sabbatical, Bev! I hope you don't mean you'll be gone for the whole year, though! It's good to take a few steps back from time to time, we've all done it - and came back somewhat refreshed. I hope you will come back soon and regale us with your funny, witty, typically-bev tales. I may not comment as often as I used to, but I still look forward to reading your posts.Take good care of yourself, and know we will all be thinking fondly of you.Hugs from the colonies accross the pond!

Bez, thanks for the Mick Ronson tip-off. Had never heard of him, but have been sampling You Tube. Let's face it, Steve Harley is, or was, just a pretty face but this Ronson guy can really play the guitar.

Atta girl. good for you.And I know it's not a very Beverley, Yorks thing to say in public, but I love you. But in all things and at all times, family comes first. There can be nothing more pressing than the well-being and health of our family relationships. Selfishly, though, I will miss you and look forward to you reappearing in the future - you are disappearing just as I get back on line... I won't take it personally though.Hope 2008 is a FANTASTIC year and everything goes well for you, your lovely husband and those great kids (and of course Scamp the superstar)

Oh wow. Bev I sure am going to miss your insightful and intellegant posts! I enjoy your take on things, they way you notice things that others don't. The way you appreciate the smaller things in life.I feel like I've just been told a friend is leaving town!But alas it's not forever! I will look forward to your return. I too have had experiences in my life that have led me to dark places.Some of them were very dark places. Here's to light!and good on you for having your priorties right! Here's also to a happy home and lots of health for you and yours in 2008!Lisa :)

Well Bev, you must be touched by the impact you have had on people and i'm sure you will spare them the time it takes to visit their blogs. You know i'm a biologist so I'm going to display displacement behaviour and waffle on about Mick Ronson. I hope that there is a tribute to him somewhere in Hull, without him you may never have heard of Bowie and his collaberations with Ian Hunter are Legendary. He recorded with so very many people in his life, including Steve Harley although their efforts remain unreleased.

I don't know, Bev. I feel that I discovered you and that I ought not allow you to leave. My heart is sad. I hope it is a sabbatical and that you will be back. I will miss you a lot and I hope there is nothing wrong in your life that makes you quit now.

Take good care of yourself and be good for goodness sake. I'll say what Frances said and that is that I love you too.

Debi, I must admit that over night I have been worrying about you crying. If you want me to still e-mail me you can do, because you're probably too far away to care that I am a bit of a weirdo. lol One of the things that has been worrying me about blogging is that I am getting too emotionally involved and I worry about the effect on people (because you don't know what's happening to them in their lives) after I have left comments, and it's all getting a bit intense. I myself am as tough as old boots, virtually upsettable, and just like the playing around with ideas and having a great time in that way. So if you want me to still e-mail I will do!

Debi, I have just read your posting again and think that you probably meant 'cry' in a metaphorical way! All this emotion or metaphorical emotion is getting a bit confusing for me because, as I say, I'm just into the ideas!

I suspect we are all harmless weirdos here. Some to lesser and greater degrees than others of harmlessness and weirdoness.

As far as the impact we have on one another's real lives, I'd say by and large it is a good one. The exchange of ideas is stimulating. The emotional sharing is cathartic. And maybe I'm too optimistic when I say the exchange of cultures is a step in the right direction for the future of one planet. (Maybe generals in armies and leaders of countries should be required to blog AND read other blogs.)

Besides, it's all great fun, isn't it? (Except the part about my feeling like crying. Thankfully I didn't cry, but I felt authentic sadness -- and a tinge of grief -- when I thought you were about to simply disappear. My mother and I even talked about it on the phone and shared mutual sense of loss.)

So, to sum up (since apparently I'm writing an essay about this), we are all real and this -- blogging -- is real. But we all have to accept that there are boundaries here that don't coincide exactly with our in-person relationships. Like when someone says they are leaving for a while, we have to accept that more readily than we might in real life.

But back to the beginning. Yes, please email me. I'm so glad you are willing. I'm very excited about the thing I want to share with you.

Greetings from Beirut...Sorry, I am just catching up on everyone's news. WE ARE GOING TO MISS YOU, especially your unequaled way of looking at things! But I do understand: family comes first and believe me, we all have had these pangs of "too much" blogging. It is a pity to bid you farewell but I do hope that you will come back to post whenever you feel like. We will be here, waiting for you. May 2008 bring you the best of all worlds. Hugs and kisses, dear Bev!

Glad to hear that Debi, and you will be getting an e-mail from me when I can work out how to do it. It is a funny experience blogging because you are 'talking' to peopleon a daily basis without ever having met them. The 'upsettable', I meant unupsettable, comment was entirely true, not a Freudian slip, but a typo! I am quite secure in my personal life and view this as a bit of a playtime. As I say, I am just into the ideas!

Bez, after only a day I find I cannot cut off communication with you so easily! I really want to know how you are getting on, so feel free to give updates (that is, if you want) in whatever technological form you want in the future.